DUNCAN, Okla. – Bryce Eck is a bareback rider, but he takes to his trade with a workmanlike approach to business.
It’s worked. He is the No. 1 bareback rider heading into the Chisholm Trail Ram Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo, set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17-Saturday, Oct. 19, at the Stephens County Arena in Duncan. Most importantly, he’s already clinched the year-end championship, so all he needs to do is compete at the regional finale to secure his title.
“I went to quite a few circuit rodeos this year,” said Eck, 20, of Redfield, Kansas. “I placed second at Phillipsburg, Kansas, and that was a pretty big one for me.”
It was, but that $2,218 payday was just a drop in the bucket for a man who cleared $23,442 competing primarily at events in Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. He has a lead of about $12,000 over the No. 2 man, Rhett Robbins of Brookville, Kansas, which gives Eck an advantage that can’t be caught.
“Winning the circuit was one of my big goals this year, so it feels good,” he said. “I’m still going to do my job at the circuit finals and just get a head start on next year’s rodeo season.”
Here’s the thing about rodeo: Youngsters test the waters on their permits in order to earn enough money to purchase their PRCA cards and become competing members. Eck has done that this year and began his rookie campaign Oct. 1 when the new season opened. Because the regional championship is in the middle of the opening month, those dollars count toward the 2025 world standings.
“I look forward to really getting after it on my card and trying to win the Rookie of the Year next year,” Eck said.
He began his journey just a few years ago, then attended Fort Scott (Kansas) Community College on a rodeo scholarship to heighten his preparation. After two years at his hometown school, Eck transferred to Missouri Valley College, which, like Fort Scott, is well known for having top-of-the-line bareback riders.
“I learned everything I know from Fort Scott, and now I just wanted to come somewhere else for a year to see what else I could learn,” he said. “I‘ve had a lot of help, and I look up to my dad a lot and my older brother, Colt. Of course, there’s coach (Chad) Cross at Fort Scott and now coach (Ken) Mason at Missouri Valley.”
With the year-end title in his grasp, Eck will advance to the national circuit finals rodeo, which is called the NFR Open and takes place next July in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He will be joined by the bareback rider that has the best three-ride cumulative score in Duncan.
“I’m looking to make the NFR,” he said of the National Finals Rodeo, the sport’s grand finale. “I want to win the Rookie of the Year and make the NFR next year, and every big rodeo I can get into gets me a little closer to that.
“I’m really confident heading into the circuit finals. I’ve been practicing a bunch, and I’m more confident in myself than I was two or three months ago, so I keep getting better every day.”